district in Waadhoeke
Franeker
Franeker has 18 neighbourhoods with 13,080 residents in total.
Franeker, the old Frisian university town, spreads across eighteen neighbourhoods around its historic centre. Safety (6.8) and amenities (6.9) keep the picture steady, but wealth slips to 4.2. With over 13,000 residents and a 5.6 overall, the town stays below the national middle, despite a reasonable quiet-and-space score of 5.6.
no. 6 of the 40 districts of Waadhoeke
Short answer: Franeker scores 5.6 as a district of Waadhoeke, no. 6 of the 40 districts of Waadhoeke. Its strongest neighbourhood is Franeker Witzens (9.7), the worst Franeker Binnenstad (3.1). The district has 18 neighbourhoods with 13,080 residents in total.
Key figures for Franeker
- residents
- 13,080
- neighbourhoods
- 18
- km² of land
- 17.4
How Franeker scores
Do some of these matter more to you than others?
The figures ⌄Safety
Registered crimes per 1,000 people present per year: residents plus business activity. Figures for small neighbourhoods are smoothed.
In 2025, 360 crimes were recorded here. The figures above are per 1,000 people present (residents + businesses).
Tick = Dutch median
The safest neighbourhoods in Waadhoeke →The most dangerous neighbourhoods in Waadhoeke →
The figures ⌄Amenities
Average distance to everyday amenities, compared with the Dutch median.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Wealth & income
What the homes are worth, what residents earn and how many homes stand empty. It describes the area, not the people living in it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Quiet & nature
How tightly the addresses sit together, how much noise there is, and how much green, trees and water surround it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Not part of the grade: air quality varies mostly between regions, barely between neighbourhoods within one municipality. WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³. Calculated annual mean, RIVM 2024.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Families
How practical this area is with children: distance to school and childcare, and how many children already live here.
Tick = Dutch median
Who lives here
The age profile of Franeker looks much like that of the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1514%
NL median 14%
- 15–2511%
NL median 11%
- 25–4522%
NL median 22%
- 45–6527%
NL median 28%
- 65+27%
NL median 22%
Share of residents per age group (CBS, 2025). All five bars share one scale, so their lengths can be compared with each other.
Average household size
2.1 — smaller than average
NL median 2.3
Single-person households
38% — more than average
NL median 31%
Households with children
30% — fewer than average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
3,190 — far more densely populated than average
NL median 2,364
Tick = Dutch median. Households with children counts towards Families, population density towards Quiet & nature; the other figures here get no grade. Average of the neighbourhoods in Franeker, weighted by population.
The best and worst neighbourhoods of Franeker
The same total grade, the same yardstick — from the top to the bottom of Franeker.
Neighbourhoods in Franeker
Sorted by total grade
- 1Franeker Witzens9.7
- 2Franeker 't War8.7
- 3Franeker Alvestudewyk7.7
- 4Franeker Vliet Tuinen en Frisia7.5
- 5Franeker Schalsumerplan en Arkens7.3
- 6Franeker Sexbierumerplan6.6
- 7Franeker Keningspark6.3
- 8Franeker It Stiselplak5.0
- 9Franeker Hamburgerrak en st Want4.5
- 10Franeker Professorenbuurt4.4
- 11Franeker Industrieter. West en Kie4.4
- 12Buitengebied Franeker4.3
- 13Franeker Kaatsersbuurt4.2
- 14Franeker Stationsbuurt3.7
- 15Franeker Bloemketerp en Watertorenbuurt3.4
- 16Franeker Binnenstad3.1
- –Franeker Industrieterrein Oost
- –Franeker Industrieterrein Zuid